President will appear at Holt fund-raiser Wednesday
By: Jeff Milgram
HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP – President Bill Clinton is scheduled to make a stop here Wednesday to bolster the re-election campaign of Rep. Rush Holt (D-12), officials on the congressman’s re-election committee said this week.
Neil Upmeyer, director of Rep. Holt’s finance committee, said 250 to 300 people are expected to pay $1,000 each for the chance to rub elbows with the president under a tent on the grounds of Green Valley Farm on Carter Road, the home of Robert and Lisa Stockman.
In addition to the fund-raiser, the president is expected to take part in an "official capacity" at a "congressional" event, according to a Holt campaign spokesman. The site of that event won’t be announced until today or Monday.
"He’s coming for a couple of reasons," Rep. Holt said Thursday in a telephone interview from the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. "We’ll be talking about his education program."
"I’m delighted he’d do that (make an appearance at a fund-raiser)," Rep. Holt said. "He has a remarkable list of accomplishments … a lot of people recognize that."
The Hopewell Township Police Department refused to comment on preparations for the president’s visit, referring all questions to the U.S. Secret Service. Special Agent Vincent O’Neill of the Secret Service’s Newark office in turn referred questions about the president’s travel plans to the White House.
White House press officer Steve Voyd said Wednesday that the trip to New Jersey had not yet been added to the president’s official schedule. He said an official announcement will probably not come from the White House before Monday.
The fund-raiser is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. and last about two hours. Invited guests will get the chance to sip champagne, listen to jazz and hear President Clinton make a speech, Mr. Upmeyer said.
"They’re friends of mine and they have a beautiful place," Mr. Upmeyer said of the Stockmans and why their home was chosen for the fund-raiser.
"We didn’t want to have it at the usual places, like a hotel," he said.
Mr. Upmeyer said Mr. Stockman is a venture capitalist who invests in new businesses, and his wife is a stay-at-home mom. Neither are active in Democratic Party affairs, Mr. Upmeyer said.
Princeton Borough Councilman Ryan Stark Lilienthal believes President Clinton’s presence at the fund-raiser will help Rep. Holt in his re-election bid against his Republican opponent, former Rep. Dick Zimmer. Mr. Lilienthal has been invited, but he had not yet decided whether to attend.
Some high-profile Princeton Democrats have already declined the invitation, even though they support the president.
"I think it’s a wonderful thing," said Andrew Koontz, the Democratic chairman in Princeton Borough, who was invited to the fund-raiser but will not attend. "What it clearly demonstrates is that this race is one of the most watched and will be one of the most strongly contested this year."
"This is quite a coup for Rush Holt – that a freshman congressman can do that (have the president appear at a fund-raiser," he continued."
Mr. Koontz said President Clinton remains popular in the 12th District. "Clinton’s controversial, but Clinton has consistently done well in the 12th District," Mr. Koontz said.
Princeton Township Mayor Phyllis Marchand was invited to the reception but will not attend because of scheduling conflicts.
"It’s wonderful for Congressman Holt," she said. "It’s an honor for him and shows the fondness the administration has for him."
Princeton Borough Councilwoman Wendy Benchley also was invited, but won’t be able to attend because of conflicts with municipal meetings that evening.
"I have met Clinton a couple of times … and I think he’s one of the smartest, most effective presidents," said Ms. Benchley.
Ms. Benchley and her husband, author Peter Benchley, met the president and first lady Hillary Clinton at the annual Renaissance Weekend meetings in Hilton Head, S.C., informal gatherings where public-policy issues are discussed in a relaxed, casual atmosphere.
"I was stunned by their grasp of issues" Ms. Benchley said.
While arrangements for the presidential visit were being made locally, Rep. Holt was in Los Angeles, where he spoke briefly at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday afternoon. His theme was education.
"In the past 18 months, I have visited nearly 100 Central Jersey schools. I have met students like Kathy Scott of Montgomery Township, who before she had gone off to college was already designing a space trip to Mercury," said Rep. Holt, a former teacher and assistant director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory in Plainsboro.
He spoke about the need to improve mathematics and science education.
"It’s time we make education a priority, not a campaign slogan," Rep. Holt said.
In 1998, Rep. Holt unseated Rep. Mike Pappas, a Republican. This year, he is running against Mr. Zimmer, a Republican who vacated the 12th Congressional District seat in 1996, when he unsuccessfully ran against Democrat Robert Torricelli for the Senate.
Political observers believe Rep. Holt is an underdog in the campaign for re-election.
The appearance by President Clinton would not be the first time a national Democratic political figure has come to a fund-raiser for Rep. Holt.
In June 1999, Hillary Clinton was a featured speaker at a Holt fund-raiser at the Greenacres Country Club in Lawrence. About 10 days later, House Minority Leader Richard Gephart, D-Mo., spoke at a Holt fund-raiser at the Forsgate Country Club in Jamesburg.